The Legend of Asushunamew
by Tabbyluna
Summary: A long, long time ago, in the time of The Ancients, The Master Sphinx ruled over all the Sphinxes in Skylands happily. Until one day, he went missing!


A long, long time ago, in the age of the Ancients, The Master Sphinx ruled over all the sphinxes in Skylands happily. The Master Sphinx was a most benevolent ruler. He would to the needs of the felines faithfully, providing them all with fresh food, water, shelter, and catnip everyday. He loved them all like a father would love his children. And every decision he made, he did it with the wellbeing of his people behind it.

In turn, the sphinxes all venerated and respected him. They frequently threw feasts for him, and left him the best portions of their food. It was not long before The Master Sphinx was worshipped as a god. An almighty provider for his people, a protector against all that is evil. They took old temples intended for worship of The Ancients, and transformed them into temples for the worship of The Master Sphinx. And neither The Master Sphinx, nor the old priests, spoke up against the common sphinxes for the treatment of the temples.

But soon, The Ancients found out about the treatment of their temples, and the actions of the sphinxes invoked their wrath. To punish the sphinxes for their idolatry, and The Master Sphinx for his hubris, The Ancients ordered for a wizard to drag him into The Underworld in his sleep. The next morning, The Master Sphinx could not be found anywhere.

At first, the sphinxes were panicked, and they sent out many scouts to search the immediate area for him. But they all had no luck. Soon, a great famine hit the sphinxes. Without the guidance of The Great Sphinx, they were unable to manage their food supply, and food soon became scarce. The sphinxes, fearful for their lives, tried their best to reconcile with The Ancients. They prayed, and gave offerings, yet nothing ever came from it. Soon, the sphinxes devolved into a frantic, hungry, frightened race of creatures. It was a truly miserable time.

But all hope was not lost yet. A young sphinx by the name of Asushunamew, often considered to be The Master Sphinx's most beloved priest as he was allowed to wear his jewellery, stepped up to the challenge of finding him. In their great desperation, the sphinxes decided that some of them needed to accompany this young boy on the journey. So, Asushunamew chose a handful of the bravest, wisest sphinxes to join him on the journey, and together they set out on their adventure together.

It was a difficult journey. Sometimes, the group had to brave through tall, snowy mountains. Other times, they crossed through the driest and hottest deserts. And still other times, they crossed through thick, humid jungles full of poisonous insects and fierce beasts. But their devotion to The Great Sphinx allowed them to push on. There was no mountain too cold, no desert too hot, no jungle too humid. The Great Sphinx needed to be found, and they shall be the group who found him. The sphinxes depended on them.

But one evening, as the party was resting up near a beach, Asushunamew encountered a strange bottle covered with barnacles. When he went to clean them off, suddenly, a cloud of pink dust filled his lungs. He coughed and wheezed, and his eyes watered and stung. But when he opened his eyes again, he found himself face to face with a big blue genie.

The genie informed him that he is the Genie of Wisdom, and he is allowed to ask him for three wishes pertaining to wisdom and knowledge. However, he had to exchange something in order to get an answer. Asushunamew, already a naturally wise young man, decided to take the opportunity to wish for knowledge of The Great Sphinx's location. In exchange, he gave up his bracelets, knowing that those could be easily replaceable. And so The Genie granted his first wish. The Great Sphinx was locked up away in the heart of The Underworld. He had been placed there by The Ancients.

The second thing Asushunamew asked for was knowledge on how to retrieve The GReat Sphinx back. For that knowledge, he gave up his neckpiece. That too, can also be easily replaceable. And so The Genie leaned into his ear, and told him about a secret plant which, once consumed, can bring a person back to the World of the Living without consequence. The Genie told him instructions on how to get that flower, and Asushunamew thanked him and told him to retreat back into the bottle. His third wish shall be used at a later date. When the sun rose, and the other sphinxes rose with it, Asushunamew immediately told them about the location of The Great Sphinx, the plant, and where they can find such a plant.

They travelled for days to find the plant, which was hidden away in a forest on a tiny, unpopulated island. As it was a small plant, it was not easily found. But thanks to Asushunamew's wisdom, he soon constructed a plan to find it. He waited in the middle of the forest, listening closely to the sounds of the forest. Eventually, a bee buzzed by, and Asushunamew slowly followed it. Eventually, the bee led him to a small area in between the tree roots, and that was where he managed to pluck several of the tiny flowers.

They crossed the land again, in search for the entrance to The Underworld. But that was much easier to find than the flowers or The Great Sphinx. The Underworld was the most well-known place in Skylands, after all. Others had found ways to enter it without dying.

In the Underworld, they began their search for The Great Sphinx, something that The Ancients were aware of. As a result, The Ancients sent many monstrous creatures after the sphinxes, in an effort to stop them from reaching The Great Sphinx. But the sphinxes overcame all the beasts. Asushunamew had the foresight to not only choose the wisest minds, but the bravest warriors too. These warriors carried the rest of the party through The Underworld, until they finally reached The Great Sphinx.

Asushunamew, with his wise, intelligent mind, quickly unlocked the cage The Great Sphinx had been placed in. After he was free, everyone in the room was handed a flower to eat, and they appeared back in The World of the Living in one piece.

When they finally arrived back home on their island, the other sphinxes immediately decided that a feast was needed to celebrate. So, while Asushunamew, The Great Sphinx, and all the other heroes rested, the other sphinxes were busy in preparing up whatever food they had left. And that was when Asushunamew decided to make his final wish.

He told the Genie that his final wish was to make it so that another event like this never happened again. His final wish was to give all of Skylands the power of foresight. When The Genie asked what they would trade in order to get it, Asushunamew said that he wished to trade in his biological gender. He shall live the rest of his life as an androgynous being, but Skylands shall be blessed with the ability to see the future.

The Genie agreed to the exchange, but only if the now androgynous Asushunamew and a group of other sphinxes agreed to guard the gift in exchange for their biological genders. And that all sphinxes who felt like they were neither male nor female were to be tasked with protecting it. Once they found enough sphinxes to agree to the transition, the deal was made, and a nearby island transformed into a desert which allowed people to look into the future.

To this day, sphinxes who feel like they are neither men nor women guard The Enchanted Desert with vigilance. All because of a noble sphinx, the Skylands now has a way to see into the future, and all had chances at evading disaster.


End file.
